


Silvers Not as Dazzling

by Giddygeek



Category: The Chronicles of Chrestomanci - Diana Wynne Jones
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2006-12-25
Updated: 2006-12-25
Packaged: 2018-01-25 03:50:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,115
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1630007
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Giddygeek/pseuds/Giddygeek
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Written for Rabbit</p>
    </blockquote>





	Silvers Not as Dazzling

**Author's Note:**

> Written for Rabbit

 

 

"This is what you need, my lad," said the very pretty young witch with the gnarled hands. She handed Howl a sheet of crumpled parchment, stained with food and drink and what appeared to be--he sniffed the paper lightly--what was most definitely the blood of a few different species of frog. "Say this word three times aloud while turning widdershins under the full moon, and you'll have your answers soon enough."

"Ah," Howl said. He folded the paper and slid it into a silk bag, which had not existed a moment ago. The bag was black, as dull and hopeless a black as night in places where there is no moon and never has been, as black as Howl's hair and his mood and his boots.

He slid the bag into a pocket of his coat and it was swallowed, overwhelmed by the even duller black of Howl's suit. He bowed low, and pressed a gentle kiss to the hand of the young witch. He couldn't undo the curse the Witch of the Waste had laid on her, but he did what he could with that touch, and she was smiling when he straightened.

"Many thanks," she said.

"Many more to you," Howl said, and went away to find a place where there was a moon shining full.

~~~

"Chrestomanci," Howl said, and turned widdershins. "Chrestomanci, Chrestomanci."

The moon, bright and silver so high above, seemed to turn to gold. The grasses sighed and the trees bowed their heads, and the whole forest seemed to echo Howl's voice, _Chrestomanci_.

Howl turned once again, and there was a man standing near him in the clearing.

For a moment, they blinked at each other, surprised. "Hello?" Howl said. "Have I Chrestomanci'd you into being, then?"

"I am called Chrestomanci," the man said. "And you summoned me."

Howl tilted his head. The man was tall, very tall, in a sleek and skinny way. His hair was as black as Howl's, but didn't have the tint of magic like Howl's did, and every strand of it was smooth and shiny. His eyes were dark and gleaming. He was older than Howl and very beautiful.

Also, he was wearing all of Howl's colors.

In fact, Howl was fairly certain that he was wearing all of the colors in the world; that was the problem. His trousers and coat were of a rich, navy blue and his vest was a gentle rainbow of shades, glowing in the moonlight. His shirt underneath was a beautiful golden linen, and his cravat was those colors and more, woven as smooth as water in a bowl.

"I am the Wizard Howl, and I believe that you have something which belongs to me," Howl said and quite politely too, he thought.

Chrestomanci blinked, looking vaguely confused, then patted his pockets. "I'm terribly sorry, but you're mistaken," he said, and the rich regret in his tone made Howl's polite voice sound like that of a small child demanding a sweet, now, now, _now_.

"And I'm terribly sorry, but I think you'll find that you've taken all the colors," Howl said, and his voice was no longer polite. The child was demanding a pony, a nap, a drink, the potty, a sweet, all the world all at once. He found he couldn't be ashamed. This man, this _Chrestomanci_ , had reduced him to the dull colors of a shop boy after all. It simply wasn't meant to be borne. "I must insist you return them."

"Ah," Chrestomanci said. "That. Well, I'm afraid that is your quite your own fault. I had heard there was a young enchanter who changed his colors so very often that they had begun to rebel. Perhaps you've experienced some trouble lately? Purples not as rich as you would like? Silver not as dazzling?"

Howl put his hands on his hips.

"That's the way of it, then," Chrestomanci said, knowingly. "Give them a rest, and they'll return refreshed and relaxed. You may find whole new combinations you had never dreamed of! Perhaps even a new shade of indigo, which highlights your stunning eyes in a most exciting way. And you'll have learned a very valuable lesson."

Howl glared. "And until the colors _decide to return_?"

"Do as the rest of us do, and stick to woven fabrics," Chrestomanci advised, as vaguely cheerful as a politician, with a bright gleam in his eye. Howl watched him for a long moment, jealous, wondering, and Chrestomanci's eyebrows rose. A staring match ensued.

Chrestomanci's eyebrows rose even higher when his vest and cravat began to undo themselves. He laughed, and Howl felt something swirl through the clearing like the rush of water down a plug, yet also like a fountain bubbling up, and his undoing spell returned to him in a gentle tease of fluttering cloth.

"Try that again in a dozen years or so," Chrestomanci said, his lips twitching. Howl crossed his arms over his chest to keep his clothing on his body, though it felt like it had a mind to walk off and join his colors whereever they had gone. "Yes--try again. Keep my name, Wizard Howl. Call me on a night like this in a forest like this, and we will see whose magic will win. Until then." He sketched a bow and Howl thought he heard a gentle laugh, like soft fabric on his skin, a warm touch to his arm, and the world seemed to fold in on itself.

When it unfolded, tall, elegant, enviable Chrestomanci was gone.

Howl straightened his shoulders, his coat, his hair. He checked his pocket and made certain that the parchment was still there though he doubted he would forget. " _Wizards_ ," he told the forest, which rustled agreement. And then he went along home.

~~~

Calcifer was half-asleep but sputtered awake when Howl threw himself into the chair. "Did you get them back?" he asked, and Howl grumbled, tossed him a piece of kindling. Calcifer gobbled it up greedily, his flames a little brighter. "Well? Don't tell me I went through all the trouble of finding that Miss Witch for you, and you didn't even get what you wanted!"

"The colors have to come back on their own," Howl said, sulkily, and Calcifer roared at him, reached out greedy little hands for another piece of wood. Howl tossed it on top of his head.

"What a waste," Calcifer said, and gobbled that piece of wood as well, making contented crackling noises.

Howl stared into his flames for a while, and then patted his pocket again. The paper crinkled. Howl smiled. "Well," he said, "I suppose it wasn't, not entirely," and he took himself dreamily off to bed.

 


End file.
